Johanns,
who was Secretary of Agriculture during the last Bush administration, said that
USDA’s Feb. 5 proposal for a new framework for animal disease traceability would
effectively mandate animal ID while claiming to be a voluntary approach. He
added that the proposal would make states, not USDA, responsible for the costs
and hassles of running a very unpopular program. He also warned that with the
new approach, ranchers would “spend more time trying to figure out how to
comply with the USDA program than he or she will spend ranching.”

Johanns
acknowledged that when he had Vilsack’s job at USDA, “I thought a mandatory
approach might be necessary, and we listened and we studied it very closely.
And then we went to the countryside, and we listened to farmers and ranchers,
and what we heard overwhelmingly was, ‘Mike, do not make this a mandatory
program.’” Johanns added that “producers already comply with a laundry list of
federal regulations, and in this administration it grows by the day. They take
numerous steps to ensure the safety of their animals. That is their
livelihood.”

Rather
than mandating “one more costly burden dictated on the rancher by the federal
government,” Johanns said Vilsack should realize that with the cattle industry
strongly opposed to animal ID, “it is a dead end.” He said producers have
worked hard to understand the animal ID proposals and that “There is no
repackaging that will convince them that another federal mandate is a good
idea.”

Johanns
charged that under the latest USDA proposal, “Producers are basically going to
be forced to fully participate in the program, and I think the USDA knows it.
If a potential buyer is from another state, there can be no deal unless the
animal has the tracking number. This looks like a backdoor mandate that’s being
packaged as something else. Worse yet, the package is being delivered and
dropped on the doorstep of our states. So let’s face the facts, this so-called
new animal ID plan is a mandatory system when it was promoted as a voluntary
one.”

Johanns
acknowledged the point made by USDA, House Agriculture Committee Chair Collin
Peterson (D-MN) and other supporters of mandatory animal ID: that if the U.S.
doesn’t catch up with other countries like Australia which have very effective,
quick–response animal ID programs, U.S. producers will find the markets they
can sell into increasingly limited. But Johanns said the choice of limiting
their marketing opportunities should be left up to producers. He did not
address another selling point for animal ID which has been heavily stressed by
Collin Peterson: that an animal disease outbreak which could be quickly
isolated through animal ID could instead become a national disaster, imposing
huge economic costs over many years.

“The old
NAIS system was not perfect. We always acknowledge that this is hugely
complicated,” Johanns concluded, “but calling it voluntary and then leaving
producers no real choice, that’s far from perfect. And, most importantly, it’s
not a solution. I urge the USDA to reconsider.”

This week’s guest on Open Mic is Rod Hebrink, President and CEO of Compeer Financial. The lack of certainty from a new farm bill and weak commodity prices due to lost export markets and robust supplies have left farmers and lenders with a grim outlook for 2019. In this interview, Hebrink discusses the challenge of the unknown and the need for legislators and the White House to take action on farm policy, trade and regulations to help rural America prepare for the year ahead.

The world of agriculture extends beyond what’s growing in your field or living in your barn, and here at Agri-Pulse, we understand that. We make it our duty to inform you of the most up-to-date agricultural and rural policy decisions being made in Washington D.C. and examine how they will affect you – the farmer, the lobbyist, the government employee, the educator, the consultant and the concerned citizen.